How Much Weight Can You Lose in a Week?

This question comes up all the time. There is good news, great news and bad news!

First, you can lose a lot of weight in just one week, that’s the good news. Extreme weight loss diets definitely work, but only for a short period of time. It is possible to lose up to 15 pounds in one week if you do it correctly.

The great news is that all that weight you lose will be water and fat, NOT muscle.

A study was conducted in 1999 at the American College of Nutrition testing two groups of people for 12 weeks. One did only traditional cardio, while the other group only did weight training. Both groups ate 800 calories a day. At the end of the study, both groups lost a large amount of weight, but the one that did cardio lost large amounts of lean muscle mass, and the group that did weight training did not lose any muscle mass at all.

You don’t have to go to a gym - bodyweight exercises can be used for resistance training. Now for the bad news - you have to eat very, very low amounts of calories. 800 calories a day is really low, and should not be done for more than one week.

So here is the plan for guaranteed fast weight loss:

1. For one week only, eat 800 calories a day2. Work out 3x per week with weights. Make sure that the weights are heavy and be sure to hit all body parts.

Now, 800 calories is very little food for a man or a woman: I suggest that you eat only one meal per day. If you can eat one 800 calorie meal per day, then at least you will feel somewhat satisfied, but if you split that up into 3 or even 6 meals per day, you are going to be thinking about food all day, and you won’t get the results you want in one week.

Wherever possible, eat higher protein and eat foods with a high water content such as fruits and soups (though take care to avoid soups with a lot of sodium). Also, drink lots of coffee and green tea, both of which will blunt your hunger pangs.

Stick with heavy compound exercise at the gym or at home. Forget curls and crunches, and definitely no treadmills or bikes.

Above all, keep out of the kitchen. If you are constantly in the kitchen and thinking about food, you are going to fail. Keep busy with hobbies and activities, or take naps (you will feel tired later in the day).

Remember, this is only for one week!

This type of weight loss plan is only temporary, although the results can be permanent, if you don’t return to the eating and lifestyle habits that put the weight on in the first place. After one week, transition to a moderate eating plan - you can eat normally, but maybe you can go easy by eating half the usual amount of cakes, cookies, bread, rice

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